67. Damon
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN
DAMON
NOW
Stalking away from the motel, I cross the street to a small market in search of supplies.
I’ve never been so fucking hard in my life, and I’ve spent the last week listening to those assholes making her scream at every opportunity.
But it was different in that car.
I was already riled from our encounter in the gas station, her perky little ass pressed to my cock as she bent over to get an energy drink I know wasn’t her first choice.
And that’s the annoying thing about Chloe and me. I know her. I know her favorite food and the candy she reaches for when she’s had a bad day. I know her favorite song and how it sounds on her lips when she sings along. I know everything about her, and I’ve spent years trying to forget.
I’ve done everything I can to force her out of my mind, to push Chloe and all the things she likes to a box that I can lock and throw away the key to.
But now I realize it was futile.
Shaking my head to clear the thoughts, I take a basket from the stack and move toward the prepared food section. The motel’s amenities leave a lot to be desired, but at least there’s a microwave.
The selection is small, but I grab a couple of burritos, a few prepared salads, and a pre-made pizza. I’m assuming Kingston is going to keep Chloe busy for the rest of the night, and I try to tell myself that doesn’t piss me off.
He was like a man possessed when he carried her into one of the two rooms we booked.
When it became obvious the walls were paper thin and I could hear her cries of pleasure like they were happening right beside me, I got the fuck out of there before I put a hole in the wall.
My father’s ultimatum hangs over me, and I’m still as uncertain about what to do as I was the day I left the compound.
On the one hand, I’ve spent my whole life preparing to take the Lombardi throne. It’s all I know, and without that legacy, I don’t even know who I am.
But on the other, I don’t think I can betray Ronan like that. I don’t think I can carry Chloe to her death…again. I’ve already caused her so much pain, so much trauma, I can’t be responsible for another second of it.
Living the rest of our lives on the run isn’t the life I had planned for myself, but if I decide to betray my father, I’ll have no choice. None of us will.
Because he was very clear about what would happen if I failed and what he would do if he got his hands on Chloe.
My stomach rolls at the thought.
For most people it would probably be an empty threat, but my father gets off on causing others unimaginable pain, and I can think of few things that would hurt me and Ronan like watching Chloe be tortured like that.
I move down another aisle, dropping some snacks into the basket and then a few bottles of water. There’s a vending machine a few doors down from our room so we won’t go without drinks while we’re here.
Once I have everything I think we might need, I check out and step back into the afternoon sun. Despite watching the navigation like it was my job on the way here just to stop myself from turning to watch what was happening in the back seat, I have no fucking clue where we are.
I haven’t been gone for nearly long enough to avoid listening to Kingston and Chloe, but at least I’ve had a few minutes of solace to regather the composure that slips whenever she’s nearby.
Hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as I cross the street, and I glance around, looking for whatever set off the reaction.
I’ve always been able to sense danger before it comes, but the street is quiet, not a soul in sight.
I catalog each car in the parking lot, but nothing out of the ordinary stands out to me, and then I check the few shopfronts as if I’ll find someone watching from behind a window.
But there’s nothing.
No sign of life at all, actually.
It’s the late afternoon in a tiny town that probably has a population of twenty people, so it might not be out of the ordinary, but each step I take back to the motel has a feeling of dread settling in my chest.
We’ll just stay the one night and then keep moving in the morning.